


a happy medium

by itskatbug



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Psychic Abilities, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 08:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10552876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itskatbug/pseuds/itskatbug
Summary: wen junhui is just your average 20-year-old university student.  he pulls all-nighters, goofs off with his friends, and parties a bit more than he should.  oh, and he talks to dead people.somehow, he manages to balance being a student and a medium without much difficulty, but lately he’s been getting a little too distracted by spirit.  more specifically, by a grandmother spirit belonging to the hottest guy in his lecture… and she’s desperate to try and set the two of them up.  he really doesn’t want to give the stranger a reading, afraid she might make him say something embarrassing, but at this point, he’s going to fail the class if she doesn’t shut up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is a silly fic based on a dumb idea i had, so don't take it too seriously. please keep in mind that death is talked about casually in this story, but isn't detailed at all. i wasn't totally sure how to write junhui's psychic abilities, but if you just remember that italicized sentences in single quotations are thoughts influenced by spirit, it'll hopefully read well.
> 
> thank you for reading this! let me know what you think!

“i don’t know why you’re being so stupid about this.” 

if it wasn’t completely true, junhui might've been offended by that statement. he could always trust jihoon to be straightforward in his time of need, not caring about feelings or beating around the bush. that being said, being told he was an idiot didn’t exactly solve his problem. throwing his body haphazardly across the sticky surface of their lunch table, he released a frustrated groan.

“don’t be such a drama queen,” was the only comfort he received from his friends, half of them busying themselves with their food instead of humoring his meltdown. they were used to it by this point, not even batting an eye when junhui started whining about how difficult his life was.

to be fair, his life _was_ pretty damn difficult. on top of being your normal, everyday college student – struggling with exams, shitty instant ramen, and drunken hookups –, wen junhui had the ability to speak with those who had crossed over to the other side. it sounded insane, he knew that, but it was the honest truth! 

in the beginning, it felt like he was losing his fucking mind, seeing and hearing things nobody else could and picking up information he couldn’t possibly know. he had been a perfectly ordinary teenager, stressing over acne and sweating when someone cute looked his way, before waking up with a sixth sense that couldn’t be ignored. his mother had taken him to at least five doctors, desperate to diagnose him with something reasonable and medicate him until he returned to his usual self, but nothing could be done. psychological tests proved that he didn’t actually have anything wrong with him, at least nothing that could be magically cured. 

one therapist, a sweet old lady back in china who had lost her husband the year before, took a chance and let the boy express exactly what he was feeling to her. junhui couldn’t explain how he knew the things he did, piecing together sights, sounds, and thoughts to form sentences, but he definitely knew more than he should. he was able to tell the woman her late husband’s name, interpreted a pain in his chest as the man passing from a heart attack, and congratulated the separated pair on their approaching 50th wedding anniversary. it was shocking to say the least, but everything he told her was scarily accurate. his first reading gave him confirmation that he might not be as insane as they originally thought. and as he hugged the poor woman with tears running down both their cheeks, junhui realized that this wasn’t a curse. 

for reasons unknown, he had been given a gift, and with that gift, he was meant to heal the heartache brought about by death.

that initial spiritual reading had taken place just over five years ago. with time, the confused and scared kid transformed into a rather confident young man; confident not only in his psychic abilities, but in a very general sense as well. acne cleared away, braces were removed, and his previously awkward, lanky form had developed into a body that most people dreamed of having. or dreamed of getting with, which he definitely didn’t mind either. the biggest struggle he faced came from moving to a foreign country without any grasp on the language, but he was able to overcome that as well with little effort.

(one of the only other chinese students he knew in korea, minghao, always complained about how easily he picked everything up. the younger still struggled with his words, so he was very insistent that korean spirits must have helped him learn most of his vocabulary. “it’s cheating”, he had said.

he was completely right about that, but junhui liked to deny the claim and credit his own brilliance instead.)

self-assurance helped him share life changing messages with the loved ones of those who had crossed over. people were always skeptical when he introduced himself as a medium (who wouldn’t be?), but he knew his accuracy would have them believing in his abilities soon enough. it had taken him a while to gather enough courage to approach strangers on the street and ask to give them a reading, but the boost of confidence in his looks eased those original nerves. strangers were less likely to brush him off when he was both handsome and charming – the whole package, really.

and that’s exactly why all his friends thought he was being an idiot right now.

if spirit ever started to distract him from his daily activities, all he had to do was give out their intended message to shut them up. they never persisted after he gave their loved ones a reading because there was just no reason to. sometimes they would reappear at a later date, especially if he hung around the person they were connected to more than once, but spitting out whatever they wanted to say would always make them content.

so why was he having such a problem now?

“guys, i’m not being dramatic! if i don’t get rid of this grandma, i’m gonna fail the class!” contrary to his words, the wail junhui released was quite dramatic. he lifted his head off of the table in time to spot three eye rolls dispersed through the group. he loved his friends, he really did, but sometimes they could be insensitive dickheads. couldn’t they recognize that he was having a legitimate crisis?

it was seokmin’s turn to speak up, trying his hand at comforting him when jihoon’s bluntness failed. “hyung, we don’t understand what the problem is. you get distracted all the time, but as soon as you give a reading, you’re fine. just give a reading like the grandma wants and you’ll be able to concentrate on the lecture again.”

now _that_ was some useful advice. a novel idea, really. except for the fact that junhui absolutely could not, under any circumstances, give her grandson a reading. because this wasn’t just any old grandmother spirit trying to speak with her family. no, this woman was totally nuts and somehow convinced herself that she could play matchmaker from heaven. the only message she wanted her grandson to receive was that she thought he and junhui should bone down.

and usually, he would have thought that was so fucking hilarious that he just _had_ to humor her. but, much like his dearly departed grandma, the intended client was not some average joe. no, the universe clearly hated him. it hated him so much that it had to make her grandson the exact guy that he’d been lusting after since the first day of the semester.

“you don’t get it!” junhui’s desperate whine received several nods and even a quirked eyebrow. “i can’t just go up and give her grandson a reading. he’s the hottest guy in the class! his eyes are always, like, void of any emotion. and he never talks to anyone, just sits there and reads. he's the most intimidating person i’ve ever seen! plus i’ve had at least two wet dreams about him, so i absolutely _cannot_ talk to him.”

even after his explanation, his friends still didn’t understand his predicament. in fact, most of them now looked at him like he was the craziest, dumbest person in the world – a look he usually only got upon telling people he could speak to the dead. god, why was it so difficult for them to understand?

“let me get this straight,” seungkwan spoke slowly. “you, wen junhui, the most attractive man on campus,” he was interrupted by a snort from mingyu, who clearly disagreed, “who will bother any stranger on the street to talk to them about dead people, are freaking out over some dude in your lecture because he makes you wanna cream your pants?”

junhui nodded enthusiastically, relieved that someone finally got it.

“dude, you literally talk to ghosts! like, every second of the day! literal dead people!” soonyoung threw his hands in the air as he shouted, sending rice flying and attracting the attention of everyone in the vicinity. he was quickly shushed by minghao, who shut him up with a bruising kick to his shin.

junhui remembered when his ability was the coolest thing in the world to his friends. they had all been skeptical at first (with the exception of hansol, who was already convinced that his grandpa was haunting him for accidentally breaking his favorite toolbox), but once they received readings of their own, their doubt turned into amazement. he’d been bombarded with everything from the typical ‘how do you communicate with them?’ to the more unique ‘do spirits watch me in the shower?’ (to which he answered: “it’s kinda like sharing thoughts” and “they’re dead, not perverts”). for the first few months after joining his group of friends, they all acted like he was the world’s greatest magician. instead of having party tricks of their own, they just dragged him along and let his powers impress the crowd. it benefited them by association, and they loved every second of it.

that novelty wore off very quickly, though.

“no, he’s right,” jihoon muttered around a bite of noodles, brushing a few stray grains of rice away from his food, “that’s the stupidest fucking thing you’ve ever said. and that’s not an easy record to break.”

it was upsetting to see another round of nods, junhui losing the little faith he had in them. “okay, you obviously don’t know what this guy looks like. he’s got eyes sharper than a knife. one look from him could probably kill someone.”

“and you talk to people who have actually been killed,” minghao countered, rubbing an apologetic hand on soonyoung’s back as he whimpered over his injury. “besides, we’ve seen you talk to a million strangers with no problem.”

mingyu made a noise of agreement before frowning at the rest of them, “last week, he was supposed to be my wingman at the club, but ended up giving a group reading by the bar instead. the guy i was talking to cried on my shoulder for the rest of the night. needless to say, i didn’t get laid.”

“he blamed himself for his sister’s death! i couldn’t just let you take him home without telling him what she had to say!” junhui’s voice muffled when he slapped his hands over his face. he knew that his friends didn’t always appreciate when he gave readings in public. even though they were all supportive of him, sometimes they just wanted a night out without him disappearing to deliver messages. but he couldn’t walk away when spirit called. if he didn’t say something then, he’d lose his chance to offer the healing someone needed.

bless lee seokmin and his reassuring aura, a shining light in their circle of apathetic friends. he rested a soothing touch on the distressed medium’s arm, “we know that, hyung, and we love that about you. what you do is amazing! but what we’re trying to say is that you’ve never had this problem before. you don’t even stop to think before approaching people when there’s spirit bouncing around, so this guy shouldn’t be any different. just go up to him after class, introduce yourself, and tell him what he needs to hear. no reason to worry!”

“you should try picturing him in his underwear,” junhui hadn’t even noticed when hansol joined their table, mouth overflowing as he chomped down on some jjajangmyeon. the sauce was smeared all over his face, somehow even reaching his left cheekbone. multiple looks of disgust were shot in his direction, either for his eating habits or his suggestion, only to be shrugged off carelessly. “it works for me.”

he should have known that this was hopeless. when had it ever been a good idea to ask his friends for advice? the last time he needed help, it was with finishing an essay the night before it was due. the only solution offered to him was a dangerous concoction of five different energy drinks from soonyoung and seokmin. he didn’t need to consult spirit to know that he probably would have died had he drank it.

maybe they couldn’t grasp the gravity of his situation because he hadn’t told them exactly what the message was. if it was something normal (see: ‘look for butterflies and know that’s their way of telling you they’re with you’), he would’ve gotten the reading over with the moment that damn grandma popped into his head. but knowing she wanted him to ask her mysterious grandson out on a date threw him through a loop. that just wasn’t something he could say outright to a stranger’s gorgeous face! 

what made her so sure that the boy would like him anyway? the most interaction they had was the one time junhui had been caught staring at him from across the room (because of spirit! not because he wanted to appreciate his side profile!), and that ended with him nearly tumbling out of his seat in embarrassment. the guy hadn’t cracked a smile even then. he just furrowed his eyebrows above that piercing gaze before returning to the book in his hands. it was humiliating to say the least, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle a repeat of the memory.

even though he really could use all the help he could get, there was no way he was telling his friends the entirety of his problem. if they knew he was being harassed by a spirit because it wanted to hook him up, he would never hear the end of it. he already had enough on his metaphorical plate to deal with… and a mostly untouched meal on his literal plate, so he just shook his head in disappointment and began to stuff his face. 

he didn’t need their help to figure this out anyway.

 

…

 

‘ _he always keeps clean and knows how to cook. he sounds like he’ll make a great husband one day._ ’

junhui never thought he’d be so desperate to listen in on a lecture, but man, did he wish he could concentrate on what the professor was saying right now. getting distracted by spirit was the worst part of his gift. they often communicated by influencing his thoughts, making him think whatever they wanted him to say or do, and it was tough to focus on anything else. he could still hear the monotone droll of his teacher’s voice, but none of his words actually registered. it was like someone had shoved cotton in his ear, all sounds not spiritual coming in too muffled to understand.

the situation wasn’t anything new. he experienced this about four times a day, if not more. he was only frustrated now because he knew there was no way to make it stop unless he confronted the stranger on the other side of the room. even if he wanted to go through with it – which he certainly didn’t, thank you very much –, it wasn’t like he could interrupt the entire class to give a reading. people stared at him enough without knowing his abilities; he really didn’t need their usual attraction to turn into harsh judgement.

‘ _i really need to talk to him_.’ junhui let out a breathy snort at the projected thought, catching a few stray glares from his classmates. he didn’t need to do anything he didn’t want to do. sure, he felt obligated to deliver messages, but nobody was making him do it. there wasn’t a particularly good feeling when he didn’t pass something along, and he felt bad when he couldn’t bring others peace of mind, but it really was up to him. if he said no, there was no way to force him into it… unless, maybe, they annoyed him into changing his mind.

his pen tapped against the page of his notebook three times before he felt himself writing. onlookers might think he finally decided to take notes but they’d be sorely mistaken. he wished he could take his notes; there were only so many tests he could fail before having to drop the course. instead, his hand moved across the page to scribble the same phrase three times – another three, he noted –, despite his best efforts to stop himself. he blinked at his own handwriting before registering what the spirit made him write: “ _could be soulmates_ ”.

this was getting ridiculous.

minutes ticked by like hours, flashes of orbs catching his attention from the corner of his eye. every time he turned to spot them head-on, they hurried off like it was a game of tag and his gaze was it. the ‘annoy-him-into-doing-a-reading’ strategy started breaking down his resolve. all he needed was five more minutes of self-restraint. once the hot guy exited the classroom, his grandmother would disappear with him. and junhui wouldn’t have to deal with her for another week. the end of the period would be his saving grace.

but this grandma wasn’t going down without a fight. he dropped his head into his hands, a sudden dizzy spell hitting him like a bag of bricks. ‘ _his presence makes me dizzy_.’ great, she’s a jokester too. how important was this class to his major again? if he really had to, he could rearrange his schedule next semester to squeeze it in. having a dropped class wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. 

from across the room he could feel an aura, burning hot and calling out to him. it didn’t take a genius to know who that belonged to. he couldn’t tear his focus away from the attractive stranger, lifting his gaze to study him. shit, he looked good today. why couldn’t this grandma belong to the sleepy girl next to him who snored and drooled throughout the entire lecture? he wouldn’t be having these problems if that were the case.

before he could even register that the professor’s voice had stopped, the other students had already packed their things and started filing out of the room. every student aside from the grandson… because the world hated him, so of course the guy was taking his time leaving. 

the room would be empty until its next class an hour later, giving him no reason to rush out. he must’ve been taking advantage of that, book in his hands and notes still spread over the desk. junhui wanted to curse him for his lethargic pace, but the grandmother insisted that it showed he was an intelligent soul who appreciated peace and quiet. that sounded like a load of bullshit to him, but it popped into his thoughts anyway.

tossing his bag over his shoulder, he took a deep breath to hold as he crossed the room. hot grandson had picked the seat closest to the door, so there was no way to avoid him completely. he could only hope that he had enough control to walk passed without incident. and for a moment there, he thought he was home-free. but then his legs stopped moving, feet planting into the floor with unnecessary force, and pausing right in front of the guy’s desk.

no matter how much he yelled at his body to listen, it refused to listen to him. ‘ _payback. i ignored her, now my body ignores me_.’ this was some kind of sick joke, and the grandmother cackled in amusement. she won. now he’d have to suffer through this without making a complete fool of himself.

“uh,” junhui cleared his throat, palms beginning to sweat, “hi.”

the stranger reluctantly raised his eyes to study the man before him, quirking an eyebrow to show interest. holy fuck, he’s wearing glasses. they didn’t even have real lenses! this was a deliberate fashion choice to seem even hotter than usual and god damn, it was working. how dare he wear those, today of all days!

he shouldn’t have problem asking someone if they wanted to receive a message from spirit, not when he’s done it a few hundred times by now. but apparently that didn’t matter. today, his usual scripted opening was nowhere to be seen. “your grandmother is dead, right?” junhui wanted to punch himself in the face.

“that is,” the deep voice nearly rocked him to his core, tone dripping with amusement. at least he wasn’t offended by the bluntness, “the weirdest pickup line i’ve ever heard. but you’ve peaked my interest, so i need to hear the rest. yeah, she’s dead.”

“great!” he honestly wished he was the one who was dead. “i mean, not great like it’s awesome she’s dead!” seriously, someone kill him right now. “like, great because this definitely for you. just wanted to make sure,” he nervously tried to explain himself, ignoring the invisible chortling in his head. “okay, let me start over. hi. i’m junhui. i’m a medium.”

“you look more like a large to me.”

oh great, this fucker was a jokester too. ‘ _he gets it from her_.’ the guy looked so smug about it too, clearly holding in laughter at his own joke. “ha-ha, very funny. she thinks so too.”

his expression was practically unreadable, eyes dark with a smirk that sent chills down junhui’s spine. things were going well so far – this wasn’t the worst reaction he’s received. “she being my dead grandma?”

“yeah, that’s the one,” he reached up to rub the back of his neck, feeling silly under the skepticism. “i sound totally crazy, i know, but i really need to give you a message from her. she’s driving me nuts... no offense. she won’t let me concentrate when you’re around and i can’t afford to fail this class.”

"that's a funny way of saying you find me distracting," the other male teased. he took a moment to contemplate the offer, still making that damn face and scaring the shit out of a guy who talked to ghosts. a few seconds passed by before he gave a nod, finally setting aside his book and leaning forward with interest. “alright, go ahead with the message.”

‘ _jeon wonwoo is a fitting name for him_.’ junhui nodded in agreement with his own thoughts, appreciating the extra bit of information provided to him, “your name is jeon wonwoo, right?” he could use any little details that might help convince the other he’s telling the truth. wonwoo nodded slowly, one eyebrow twitching. up close, it was obvious how good looking this guy was. his features were slightly strange (a long nose, fox-like eyes, and one hell of a jawline), but paired together, they made the perfect picture. “you get your eyes from her.”

that smirk fell immediately, confusion replacing his previous amusement. it was the look of someone who was shocked by what junhui knew, and he hadn’t even started yet. “she has a few things she wants to say, but let me sort through things first.” the medium licked his lips, blinking three times before humming, “alright, please tell me what the thing is with the number three. i keep doing stuff in threes but she won’t explain why.”

wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, “three?” realization dawned on him, evident when his features relaxed, “oh. every time we said goodbye, i would always kiss her head three times. it was just something we did. could that be it?”

damn, that was an adorable answer. his guy seemed so tough from a distance, when in reality, he’s the type to kiss his grandma goodbye not just one, but three times. he partly wondered if she made him ask about it because she knew he would find the answer endearing. he had to give her some credit for her technique. “that’s it! and it’s been eight months since she passed?”

“eight months last week, actually,” wonwoo ran a hand over his arm the same moment junhui felt his own arm hair stand up. he forced out a laugh, clearly unnerved by the accuracy thus far. even then, his chuckle sounded like music. “this is getting a little weird.”

he put on his most reassuring smile, “yeah, i hear that a lot. i’d say sorry, but i kinda need to validate things before i can give the message.” suddenly the air in his lungs turned to lead, and he gasped for a breath, “she’s making it hard for me to breathe, so she passed from complications with her lungs. is that right?” once the words left his mouth and the other spit out a quiet ‘yes’, junhui was able to breathe again. he sucked in a few deep breaths, grateful it was over. he hated experiencing the cause of death, even if it lasted two seconds.

an unfamiliar memory flashed through his mind, the picture of a family enjoying the day at the beach. he recognized one of the faces easily, having stared at it a little too often in the last few weeks. for some reason, his thoughts lingered on the image of a shirtless wonwoo. the defined muscle wasn’t expected, but it sure as hell was appreciated. she’s showing off his body, junhui belatedly realized. “she’s showing me the beach,” he left out the half-naked part of his vision, “and i feel like there’s sand between my toes. is that significant to you?”

“she lived in sokcho, right on the beach.”

“you and your little brother always spent vacation there,” he didn’t bother asking at this point. junhui cracked a smile when he saw those intense eyes widen. proving skeptics wrong always brought him joy. another part of him simply enjoyed the sight of it; wonwoo looked pretty with his mouth hanging open like that.

the chinese boy sniffed a few (three) times, nose crinkling at the pungent smell of dirt. not just any dirt, but the kind of mulch his mother used when she planted flowers in their yard. “the air smells earthy, too,” he started, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to place a meaning behind it, “so did she like to garden? not flowers, it doesn’t have a floral scent, but maybe vegetables?”

he received a nod as an answer, the other perking up at the mention, “yeah! it was our thing – tending to her vegetable garden. she used to call me her garden fairy.”

“that’s fucking adorable.”

wonwoo’s ears and neck flushed a deep red, a total contrast to the scowl he put on, “shut up! i didn’t like the nickname. it just made her happy, okay?”

“okay,” junhui supplied simply. he wasn’t sure how to say that his comment wasn’t sarcastic in the slightest; that genuinely was one of the cutest things he's ever heard. in fact, now that he thought about it, a lot about this boy was downright endearing. he was starting to see that his grandma picked these questions to try and appeal to the medium. only a small part of him could be mad about that. “we’ll move on.”

‘ _he’s lonely when he’s at school. he needs someone to take care of him_.’

“she’s worried about you being alone. something about how you need to meet someone soon.”

junhui wasn’t expecting the loud groan that the other let out, dropping his head onto the desk with a thud. “oh my god, not this again. what’s with her and trying to set me up all the time? she used to force me into blind dates with her friend’s grandkids when i stayed there. it drove me insane!”

at least he wasn’t the first person she had tried to set him up with. somehow that made junhui feel a little less awkward about it. his small smile turned into a charming smirk, “that’s actually a big part of her message for you, actually. i mean, she loves and misses you, obviously, but she really wants you to find someone nice.”

wonwoo lifted his head to reveal a pretty blush on his cheeks, “she’s been bothering you so much because she’s worried about me being single? shit, i must seem like a total loser to you.”

“not a _total_ loser,” the medium laughed. with the bravado gone, junhui finally regained the confidence he was so used to. why was he nervous about this in the first place? wonwoo was such an easygoing person, he never had reason to worry. the spirit felt pretty damn pleased with herself at the revelation, practically rubbing it in his face. she was right about everything, especially the fact that her grandson was exactly his type. “from what i heard, you seem like—,” boyfriend material, his thoughts finished.

the other straightened his back, leveling junhui with a curious gaze, “seem like what?”

“like a great guy,” he shrugged. although he wanted to leave it there, the grandmother encouraged him to continue, “she’s been distracting me for weeks, so i’ve heard a lot about you. she might be hyping you up a little, though.”

wonwoo’s magnetic aura shifted, relief filling the air. if it was possible, the medium was drawn to him even more now. “i’m really sorry that she’s bothering you so much. she was always the most stubborn person in the family. it’s nice to know death hasn’t changed that.”

“trust me, she’s still stubborn,” junhui chuckled, pleased when a deeper laugh echoed. ‘ _i should just rip the bandage off_.’ the grandma was rushing him at this point, slightly impatient that the reading had dragged on for so long. his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip, maintaining his most alluring grin.

he hadn’t expected the shift in how he would feel from the start of their interaction to the end. readings usually changed the ones who were receiving the message, not him. now that he had actually spoken to the mysterious student from across the room, he wished he’d done this weeks ago. everything he knew about the guy had been fed to him by his dead grandparent, but he wished he could learn more from wonwoo himself. as much as he absolutely hated to admit it, that annoying-ass grandma predicted a chemistry that he couldn’t deny. for once, he felt grateful for her persistence.

“so this is gonna sound really weird—,” he snorted when wonwoo interjected with ‘all of this is weird’, “—but your grandma thinks we might be good together. that’s actually the whole reason why she wanted me to talk to you so badly.”

in an instant, that unreadable mask returned, covering up all traces of amiability. the look sent a shiver down junhui’s spine, this time in fear of having said the wrong thing rather than a sign from spirit. what if his grandma had poor judgement? he did say that she used to set him up all the time, and that obviously didn’t work out. maybe he wasn’t even wonwoo’s type. maybe she just picked him because he was the only one who could hear her. 

he had to stop himself from doing anything rash out of sheer embarrassment (like booking it out the door and dropping out of school). the last thing he needed was to get in his own head; spirit never steered him wrong before. besides, he was an attractive guy himself. if anything, he could have confidence in his looks.

“she’s been bragging about you for weeks now, and i thought she was a little crazy for it, but after talking to you...” junhui could talk to the dead, but he couldn’t ask out a hot guy. this was unbelievable. “i knew you were attractive and smart and all that, but you’re not as intimidating as i thought. honestly, you’re kinda like a big teddy bear. which is great! because that’s totally my type,” he had to take a deep breath, noticing the slightest shift in wonwoo’s gaze. his expression was still unreadable, but somehow his eyes looked softer. “i’m rambling and you still haven’t said anything so i’m gonna shut up. i just don’t want you to think i’m only saying this because of your grandma. i thought you were hot before she even showed up! and now i'm really stopping before i embarrass myself any further.”

it was radio silent, an uneasy feeling in the air as the pair blinked at each other. junhui cleared his throat, “please say something before i die. i know i talk to ghosts, but that doesn’t mean i want to be dead too.”

wonwoo’s tough exterior finally cracked and the heavens above parted – or maybe it was just some extra light streaming in through the window, but junhui didn’t believe in coincidences. a smile broke out on his face, scrunching up his nose in the most lovable way. the sight made him want to melt into a puddle on the floor. “do you always confess after giving messages from the dead or am i special?”

“i’ll admit, this is a first. did it work?”

his charming smile must have been working because wonwoo’s face flushed again. junhui had no idea how this was the same person he had been shitting his pants over for the last few weeks. “well, i was right about it being the strangest pickup line i’ve heard,” he chuckled, lifting a hand to adjust his glasses, “but it’s effective.”

he couldn’t tell if it was the grandmother celebrating or his own excitement reaching its peak, but junhui swore there were fireworks shooting off in his chest. with the message delivered and her mission successful, his thoughts were clear again. he could stand in the classroom without her breathing down his neck for the first time since she arrived, and that was almost as much of a feat as wonwoo actually saying yes – but not quite as amazing.

“okay, great,” he breathed, that looming weight finally lifted from his chest. not only had he gotten rid of that pesky spirit, but he also managed to hit it off with the guy he’s been crushing on since the beginning of the semester. today was one for the books, that’s for sure. “so, uh, does that mean you’d wanna go out sometime?”

wonwoo stroked an imaginary beard, taking a few extra second to make the other squirm. he nodded after his pause, flashing that captivating smile, “we can grab lunch after the lecture next week? on one condition, though…”

“for you? anything.” god, it was so much easier to flirt when he didn’t have to worry about that guy's grandmother being around to judge him.

“don’t give me messages from any other dead relatives for a little while. we can save the next reading for our second date,” wonwoo wore an expression of pure amusement. junhui tried not to explode at his words (he wanted a second date before they even had their first!), nodding enthusiastically instead. “i want to learn more about junhui the university student, not junhui the medium.”

“i would love for you to get to know junhui the university student,” he grinned enough to cause physical pain in his cheeks, “as long as i get to know you without having facts fed to me by spirit.”

that must have been the correct answer, because wonwoo let out a pleased hum before moving to pack his things. time passed by without either of them noticing, and a few stray students began trickling into the room. not only was this one of his most memorable readings, but it might be his longest too.

wonwoo pushed away from the desk (they were the same height, he noted) and began toward the exit, “then it’s a date.” he paused in the doorway, glancing at him from over his shoulder, “see you next week?”

“yeah, i’ll see you then,” junhui promised, his heart fluttering when he caught a more bashful smile on the other’s face. he watched as the boy nodded, waiting until he disappeared through the doorway before letting himself pump a celebratory fist in the air. the few strangers in the room shot judgmental glares, but he was too far gone to give a shit. he had a date with jeon wonwoo – beautiful, terrifying, human teddy bear wonwoo –, and absolutely nothing would tear him down.

thank god for obnoxious spirits.


End file.
